Podcast Summary: Wrong Turns with Jameela Jamil

Episode: Olivia Lee and Cariad Lloyd

Release Date: April 2, 2026
Host: Jameela Jamil
Guests: Olivia Lee, Cariad Lloyd

Episode Overview

This episode of “Wrong Turns,” hosted by Jameela Jamil, features comedians/writers Olivia Lee and Cariad Lloyd. The trio dive into their most mortifying, disastrous, and deeply human stories, reveling in embarrassment rather than seeking feel-good lessons. From public oversharing to outlandish shoplifting, hallucinated celebrity marriages, wild improv gigs, and chaotic childbirths, each tale offers listeners a candid and hilarious reminder that everyone’s life is a little bit of a disaster sometimes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Bond of Shared Embarrassment

• The show kicks off with Jameela reminding listeners that there is no moral lesson—just communal marination in shame and disaster.
• Olivia and Cariad both embrace being magnetically drawn to chaos and mishap; Olivia is "very accident-prone, very clumsy" and recently diagnosed with ADHD, while Cariad considers herself "hyper vigilant anxiety person"—constantly scanning for threats.
  • [03:40] Olivia Lee: "Anytime something really bad happens to me, I'm really happy about it."
  • [04:11] Jameela Jamil: "I think neurotypicals are the new lepers... I don't think they're real."

Oversharing, Masking, and Neurodivergence

• All agree that honesty (sometimes extreme) and oversharing is a coping mechanism, especially among neurodivergent women in the creative industries.
  • [04:50] Olivia Lee: "[With ADHD] I don't have any boundary between, like, I've only just met this person, and this is my close friend. I treat everyone the same."
  • [05:53] Jameela Jamil (on Carriad’s work): "Your body of work is very honest."
• The group discusses the constant ‘masking’ women do and the scarcity (or invisibility) of so-called ‘neurotypicals’ in creative circles.

Absurd Calamities and Losing Reality

• Jameela’s Flying Lamp Disaster:

  • As a teen, Jameela recalls walking down her street when a lamp fell out of an upstairs window (thrown during a couple's fight), hitting her head and causing a bloody but minor injury.
    • [06:14] Jameela Jamil: "Just to be clear, I was walking down the street and a lamp fell out of the sky and split my head open."
  • She muses that disaster "finds" her, almost as if she's cursed.
    • [07:11] Jameela Jamil: "I'm gonna squeeze every last penny out of this nightmare before I finally die."

• Cariad's Improv-Induced Delusions:

  • Cariad details her experience losing touch with reality after 50+ hours of nonstop improv theatre, culminating in a genuine belief that she was married to David Bowie:
    • [10:13] Carriad Lloyd: "Hour 25 of being with this person, I thought he was David Bowie and I thought I was married to him... It was like bumping into an ex."
  • The deep-dive into ‘lizard brain’ from extreme sleep deprivation exposes the fragility and inventiveness of the mind.

• Jameela’s Hallucination or Reality (Pete Doherty episode):

  • After going cold-turkey from a massive caffeine habit, Jameela hallucinated seeing Pete Doherty naked in her flat—only to later discover it actually happened.
    • [14:03] Jameela Jamil: "I looked down the hallway, and I could see Pete Doherty from the Libertines, like, playing the bongos naked... And then, as I say that, Pete Doherty walks through the hallway, past the kitchen. And I was like, it's still happening."

• Olivia’s Melatonin-induced Amnesia:

  • Sleep-deprived from motherhood, Olivia overdosed on a potent melatonin from a friend, causing her to enter a fugue state in which she couldn’t remember if she’d dropped her children at school.
    • [17:18] Olivia Lee: "I was so in automatic pilot... I don't actually to this day remember getting them there."
    • [18:43] Olivia Lee (to herself): "Did I drop Ernie off today?"

Shoplifting Confessions

• Olivia admits to developing a "micro-shoplifting" habit since becoming a mother, blaming a need for dopamine and routine-driven boredom.
  • [20:44] Olivia Lee: "I've sort of developed a little bit of shoplifting habits since having kids. Tiny microaggressions."
• Stealing protein balls and sourdough from the local Planet Organic becomes her "adrenaline fix."
  • [22:42] Olivia Lee: "The buggy is the perfect crime. Right. Buggy, tired mum, kid. Totally perfect crime, right?"
  • [24:01] Jameela Jamil: "Stealing protein in Muswell Hill at Planet Organic is the most middle class thing I've ever heard in my life."
• Attempts to justify the habit to her husband: lack of excitement leads to "either let me nick stuff or I have to go back to fucking strangers, right?"
  • [25:08] Olivia Lee: "You either let me nick stuff or I have to go back to fucking strangers, right?"
• The guests reflect on childhood shoplifting, family role-modeling (Olivia’s nan was a culprit), and the shame/guilt that clings.

Edgy Comedy, Improvising Disaster, and Misjudged Boundaries

• Cariad & Olivia recount past comic characters and performances that went awry due to their skewed perception of “normal”:
  • [32:25] Carriad Lloyd: "I did a character that was called Sanitary Bag Lady... looking for a period because she wanted a tampon."
• Both recall situations where comedy turned unexpectedly confrontational (leading to an audience member attempting to fight Cariad, or Olivia traumatizing a terrified flat-hunter).
  • [36:21] Olivia Lee: "She started crying... I really scared her. And then I looked even more crazy... this woman is mad."
• Cariad explains how learning from peers like Sarah Pascoe helped her defuse intense audience reactions:
  • [41:01] Carriad Lloyd: "I've seen her deal with so many situations... I took the cardboard off and said, my name's Carriad, I'm being a character, I'm really sorry I've upset you."

Olivia’s Traumatic Speedy Childbirth

• Olivia shares her “wrong turn” childbirth story: from labor to birth in 40 minutes, mismanagement by a student midwife, a husband fixated on his sandwich, and accidentally being administered pethidine too late.
  • [42:19] Olivia Lee: "I went from being in labor to then giving birth 40 minutes later."
  • [44:46] Olivia Lee: "They had to get the crash team in and then put the sandwich down and hold the baby."
• Humorous “wrong turn” moments—desire for a cigarette after birth, fixating on whether she’d defecated herself, and the challenges of rapidly switching emotional states in the chaos.
  • [47:16] Olivia Lee: "I really fancy a fag now. Push that one out."
• Resolution: Her baby was revived and everyone survived, with a few close calls and much confusion about bodily functions.

Listener (or host’s friend’s) Story: The Bhaji Bowl Incident

• Jameela tells a friend's story: at a festival, after eating onion bhajis, the friend is awakened in the night by his girlfriend demanding he check if he’s “shat himself” due to the powerful smell.
  • [49:47] Jameela Jamil: "The smells that are coming out of you are so bad and so violent that I'm afraid you've shit yourself... She forces him to stick his hand in his ass."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "This is a bonding show that makes other people feel better about their lives every week because they're not us." – Jameela Jamil [01:41]
• "I think neurotypicals are the new lepers... I don't think they're real." – Jameela Jamil [04:11]
• "I monetize being incredibly honest." – Cariad Lloyd [05:55]
• "I thought I was dying because it was like the talented Mr. Ripley where half your face is just suddenly covered in blood... turned out to be an embarrassingly small cut." – Jameela Jamil [06:54]
• "Hour 25 of being with this person, I thought he was David Bowie and I thought I was married to him." – Cariad Lloyd [10:13]
• "Afterwards... It was like bumping into an ex." – Cariad Lloyd [11:42]
• "I looked down the hallway, and I could see Pete Doherty... playing the bongos naked..." – Jameela Jamil [14:03]
• "Planet Organic is the perfect crime. Buggy, tired mum, kid." – Olivia Lee [22:42]
• "You either let me nick stuff or I have to go back to fucking strangers, right?" – Olivia Lee [25:08]
• "I'm sort of desensitized to those extreme emotions. Probably to my detriment, though, because I'm just like, doesn't everyone feel like that all the time?" – Olivia Lee [41:19]
• "I went from being in labor to then giving birth 40 minutes later." – Olivia Lee [42:19]
• "I didn't shit myself, babe... They're resuscitating our son. Like, I can't quite—" – Olivia Lee [47:16]
• "The smells that are coming out of you are so bad and so violent that I'm afraid you've shit yourself." – Jameela Jamil [49:47]

Important Timestamps & Segments

• [01:28] Start of show; introduction of guests.
• [03:40] Discussion on humiliation/disaster as identity.
• [06:14] Jameela’s flying lamp story.
• [10:13] Carriad’s 50-hour improv/“married to David Bowie” episode.
• [14:03] Jameela’s hallucinations and the real Pete Doherty story.
• [17:18] Olivia’s melatonin/amnesia “did I drop the kids off?” story.
• [20:44] Olivia confesses micro-shoplifting.
• [22:42] Compulsive shoplifting confessions; buggy as perfect heist tool.
• [32:25] Comedy “wrong turns”: Characters that go off the rails.
• [36:21] Olivia’s traumatizing prank on nervous flat applicant.
• [42:19] Olivia’s “wrong turn” childbirth story.
• [49:47] Listener/friend’s story: The bhaji bowl camping incident.

Final Notes

The episode is a fast-paced, honest, and consistently hilarious showcase of high-octane oversharing, comic mishap, and the blurred boundary between reality and performance in the lives of three creative women. There is genuine warmth and camaraderie in their mutual celebration of chaos—no attempts at sugar-coating, just solidarity in shared absurdity.

Where to Find Everyone

• Cariad Lloyd:
  • Instagram: @caradlloyd
  • Children’s book: "Lydia Marmalade and the Christmas Wish"
  • Ostentatious Jane Austen Improv: ostentatiousimpro.com
• Olivia Lee:
  • Instagram: @OliviaLee7
  • Scriptwriting projects in the works

For listener wrong turn stories:
Send voice memos to: PersonalDisasterStories@gmail.com

“Wrong Turns: where dignity goes to die, but good stories are born.”